Global container shipping capacity deployed on major East-West trade lanes has surged to unprecedented levels in October and November 2026, breaking sharply with historical seasonal trends, according to maritime consultancy Sea-Intelligence.
The consultancy said average weekly deployed capacity on the Asia-Europe and Transpacific trades had reached record levels, defying the usual slowdown in capacity deployment following China’s Golden Week holiday.
On the Asia-North Europe trade, average weekly deployed capacity exceeded 350,000 TEU in October and November 2026, while capacity on the Asia-Mediterranean route surpassed 260,000 TEU.
The Transpacific market has witnessed a similar surge. Capacity on the Asia-North America West Coast trade reached nearly 393,000 TEU per week in October and is expected to approach 400,000 TEU in November, marking an unprecedented level. The Asia-North America East Coast trade also recorded its highest-ever deployed capacity during the same period, following a largely historical pattern until August.
According to Sea-Intelligence CEO Alan Murphy, capacity on both Asia-Europe routes had remained elevated throughout 2026, primarily because vessels have been forced to take longer routes around Africa amid the Red Sea crisis. The extended voyages have required additional vessels to maintain regular weekly service frequencies.
However, the latest capacity surge represents a significant departure even from the already elevated levels seen in 2025.
Sea-Intelligence attributed much of the recent increase to vessel bunching resulting from persistent port congestion and poor schedule reliability across Asian ports. Delays to vessels originally scheduled to depart during the third quarter have spilled over into October and November, temporarily inflating the amount of capacity recorded as deployed during these months.
“Vessels originally scheduled to depart during Q3 were heavily delayed, cascading into October and November, and ultimately artificially inflating deployed capacity,” said Murphy.
The analysis highlights how persistent port congestion, schedule disruptions and longer sailing distances are reshaping global container shipping capacity deployment, with record figures not necessarily reflecting a corresponding increase in underlying vessel supply or actual cargo demand.